Professional grade Filter Cleaner

Can anyone recommend the absolute best method or product for cleaning a filter? I have some insanely expensive dichroic coated filters that I use for astrophotography and when changing them out in the dark they tend to accumulate dust and smudges on them. I use a lens pen sometimes but every once in a while I need to really clean them because dirt gets up under the edges of the Astronomik EOS Clip filters. Thanks

ROR (Residual Oil Remover)?

Paulowen wrote in post #16735496
ROR (Residual Oil Remover)?

YES! Usually just your breath and the appropriate wipe will do it but for that oil/grease incident, it does the job!

Paulowen wrote in post #16735496
ROR (Residual Oil Remover)?

Which is expensive soapy, salty water with a bit of isopropanol in it.


As normal, I recommend making your own cleaning solution from isopropanol (available from Amazon) and water (available from the tap). Mix the two, at about 1:1, with an optional drop or two of liquid soap - Fairy or Dawn, depending on your country Then dampen a microfibre cloth and use that to clean the filter. Use a fine brush to remove grit beforehand.

Because the cleaning solution is so cheap you can use it to clean the brush sometimes.

hollis_f wrote in post #16735576
Which is expensive soapy, salty water with a bit of isopropanol in it.


As normal, I recommend making your own cleaning solution from isopropanol (available from Amazon) and water (available from the tap). Mix the two, at about 1:1, with an optional drop or two of liquid soap - Fairy or Dawn, depending on your country Then dampen a microfibre cloth and use that to clean the filter. Use a fine brush to remove grit beforehand.

Because the cleaning solution is so cheap you can use it to clean the brush sometimes.

I'm generally in agreement with the above but I modify things a bit because of exceptionally hard and high iron content well water which I can't use from the tap. I use distilled or deionized water, distilled being readily available at grocery stores but I use it in a mixture of about 3 parts water to 1 part alcohol. That proportion is influenced because I have a source for 91% isopropyl as opposed to the more common 70%. I make it up as about one pint and the drop or two of "plain" Dawn (not the scented or OXI clean version) is ample and more importantly not too much which can cause streaking. I do not use any sodium chloride and don't understand why it is used in ROR except it is a preservative in small quantities, and ROR uses less than 1%.

Thank you guys. I think I am going to give the diy method a go, sounds alot more economical. I am lucky that I can just buy 99% isopropyl from the chemistry department at the university, so other than that I am going to go get some distilled water and I already have the dawn soap. Should work out really well.

calypsob wrote in post #16737880
Thank you guys. I think I am going to give the diy method a go, sounds alot more economical. I am lucky that I can just buy 99% isopropyl from the chemistry department at the university, so other than that I am going to go get some distilled water and I already have the dawn soap. Should work out really well.

don't have to go to chemistry department for that. try vons or whatever safeway equivalent you have near you. they all have 99% as well.